Finding our way back
by Aseay
Summary: Fitz has moved mountains to be with the woman he loves. Will she be receptive to his hard work? This story is set a year after the season finale and everything that happened in the show remains true.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Scandal. If I did, we would not be waiting until September for season two.

**AN**: This is my first ever published fanfiction. I have written millions in my head and once put one to paper in the eighth grade. Please review, I look forward to reading all of your remarks. Thanks!

* * *

"I, Fitzgerald Thomas Grant III have been lying to you, the American people. Almost a year ago today, I went on national television to tell everyone that the woman on the sextape was not Amanda Tanner, but my wife Mellie Grant. Although the first part was not a falsehood, the latter is." Fitz stood up straight behind the podium and listened to the shocked gasps turn into bantering questions of "Who is she Mr. President?", and "What about your wife?," and "Why are you just now staying something?"

To his left, he could hear Cyrus Beene curse, which was understood because the speech they planned spoke of the economy and the war on terror, not the infidelities of the president. From his peripheral, Fitz saw Cyrus walk out of the press room. The flashing of cameras turned his attention back to people in front of him and his speech.

"As for now, the woman in the tape will remain anonymous, what I will say about her is that she is the love of my life and I am doing this for her and myself. I refuse to continue to live in a loveless marriage and continue to lie to the people who expect absolute honesty from me. I am doing this now instead of a year ago because as of yesterday, I am no longer married. I hope that you appreciate my honesty and if at the end of my first term, if you do not want me, I will not seek reelection, but I feel I still have much to do in this presidency and another term is needed to complete this. Thank you for your time and God Bless America."

Without answering any of the new questions thrown his way, he exited the room to the left and walked down the hallway to the Oval Office. It felt like a weight had been lifted off of him as he sank into the leather chair behind his desk. This past year had been hell for him. He just hoped that all his hard work would pay off and his Livie would return to him.

Olivia had been working late, as usual, on a very trying client. To say this old woman was annoying would be an understatement. But because she was a friend of her grandmother's, Olivia decided to take her on as a client. The older woman, Agnes, wanted the team to get her buildings code changed so that she could have more cats. Agnes already had three, but claimed that she needed at least four more. Every day she would come into her office with a different cat and sit in the lobby asking questions all day long.

_"Olive, why don't you have a man?" Agnes asked as she tugged on her gray wig and adjusted her pink shawl. All day she asked questions like this, barely even concerned about her case._

_Immediately, Olivia regretted coming this way. She knew these questions awaited her everyday as she tried to work. The older woman was always in her business and it took everything in her not to forget her manners._

_"Once again Ms. Shapiro, my personal life is not up for discussion," Olivia ground out through gritted teeth._

_"My grandson, Benjamin, he's about your age. He's a doctor too. I think you two would make such a cute couple. I'm gonna give him a call and tell him to pick me up today so that you two can meet," Agnes continued, completely ignoring Olivia. She just kept on stroking her cat and humming Ma Navu, a Jewish hymn._

_Olivia signaled for Abby to come babysit so that she could take a much needed break, making a mental note to not be in the office when her grandson showed up. The case was taking way longer than usual because the building's owner was squeaky clean and they couldn't find anything on the manager. It looked like they would have to do this the old fashioned way; by the book._

So here she was, past ten p.m sitting at her desk reviewing codes and laws that she hadn't seen or used since law school. She had taken a ten minute break, leaning her chair back and putting her feet up on her desk. She rested her head in the back of chair and closed her eyes for the first time in 23 hours. Between this case, her other clients, and _him, _she hadn't been able to settle her mind down enough to even take a nap. Just as she was about doze off, she heard a knock come at her door.

Letting out a deep sigh, she sat up straight and yelled out, "come in." Stephen stood at her doorway, a somewhat shocked expression on his face. This caused Olivia to sit up a little straighter and shake off whatever sleep was about to take her over.

"What's wrong, I thought you and Abby were going out tonight?" Olivia questioned. Stephen and Abby had started going out about two months now and seemed to really be enjoying each other's company.

"Have you been turned on the television today?" He asked in a way that did nothing to ebb her concern.

"No, why?" she asked with growing worry. Her mind went to the worst possibilities. Automatically she thought Fitz was shot and the pain accompanied by that thought made her chest feel heavy and her throat tight.

"Well, the President made a very interesting speech today," Steven responded as he walked over to the television to turn it on. Some of Olivia's anxiety was relieved only to be replaced with more with the force of a freight train.

"_I, Fitzgerald Thomas Grant III have been lying to you, the American people. Almost a year ago today, I went on national television to tell everyone that the woman on the sextape was not Amanda Tanner, but my wife Mellie Grant. Although the first part was not a falsehood, the latter is."_

Olivia watched and listened as Fitz publicly left his wife and all but announced their affair to the world. Olivia started breathing faster, hyperventilating almost. She had no clue he was going to do this and was furious that she was blindsided this way.

"I take it you didn't know he was going to do this," Stephen commented, still standing near the television.

She shook her head as she flipped through the channels, seeing the same thing. Fitz in his blue suit giving the speech that was sure to rock the nation. She couldn't help but notice that no matter where he was in his speech, he seemed more relaxed and at peace. She wished she could feel that as well, but she was now on edge about being discovered. When his speech was done, the news stations would replay the tape and speculate as to who it was. Only one station mentioned her, but many thought it was a different White House aide.

Her personal cell phone started ringing and too distracted on what was going on the screen ahead of her, she failed to look at the screen in her palm before answering the phone.

"Pope," she answered in her usual greeting, her eyes still glued to the television.

"Hi," _his _deep voice came through the receiver. He sounded shy and unsure, as he should.

She covered the phone with her hand before turning towards Stephen. "Could you give me a minute?" she asked, nodding her head towards the phone signaling it was a personal call and she needed privacy. He nodded and walked out. Before resuming their conversation, Olivia turned off the TV then gave Fitz her undivided attention.

"What the hell were you thinking? Could I at least have gotten a heads up?" she seethed into the phone.

"No, because I know you would have tried to change my mind," he retorted, a little more forceful than his hello.

"Damn right I would have. Do you know what you have just done? Not only did you ruin your life, you could've ruined mine as well."

"I did what you were too scared to. When I told you I loved you, did you think I was joking, when I said I wanted a real life with you, did you think I wasn't serious? I did what I had to do to give us a chance." Although he started off strong, he faltered towards the end and his voice got softer.

"And what if I don't want an us," she asked even though her heart leapt at the prospect.

"Livie," he almost pleaded, hurt that she would deny them a chance at being a real couple.

"No, don't _Livie _me, Fitzgerald. You took this risk without my having any knowledge. What did you expect? That I would drop everything and run to the White house to be with you?"

Olivia could hear him sigh into the phone and for a second, she let herself imagine a life with him. She thought of their house, maybe a kid or two, waking up next to the man she loved every day. But she quickly pushed those feelings aside.

"Kinda," he joked, trying to lighten the mood. "Liv, all I want to do is be with you. I've already divorced Mellie and told the country about the affair. All that is missing is you. Please tell me that I'm not too late."

"I...you're...it's too late. I've already met someone else," she lied, hoping to get some sense into him.

"Who?" he questioned with rage and fierce jealousy.

"You don't know him, his name is Benjamin and he is a doctor." she inwardly groaned, but no other name besides Agnes' grandson had come to mind.

The past five years she had put Fitz first in her life, but she couldn't do it anymore. If word got out it was her or if she began seeing him again, life as she knew it would be over. Her privacy would be gone and therefore the confidentiality of her clients would be compromised causing her business to go under. She and her team would be jobless and she wouldn't be selfish in that aspect. What she would be selfish in was her feelings for him; no longer giving them to him. It had been a year since she had seen or spoken to him and she wasn't going to go back just because he divorced his wife.

"Are you happy?" he asked, obviously hurt at the prospect of losing her.

"Yes. Now will you please get over me and go be the president this country deserves."

"I will never get over you Olivia. I love you and I always will," he breathed into the phone before hanging up.

"I love you too," she whispered into a dead line after some moments while tears welled up into her eyes for the end of what could've been.

Five minutes later, Stephen came into the room and sat across from her in one of her office chairs. He looked at her for a few moments, his head cocked to side, trying to gage which direction she went in.

"You made the right decision Liv," Stephen finally spoke, trying to back her up.

"Did I? He left his wife, there was nothing standing in our way except for me. He showed he was more than willing to be with me and I just threw it back in his face," she revealed, the tears coming back.

"There is an entire country standing in your way Liv. He's the president and no matter what he does, they will never accept him marrying his mistress, a black one at that," Stephen offered.

Up until now, her race had been more of a novelty than a hindrance when it came to Fitz. To be honest, she had never really considered it. Fitz had never made her feel uncomfortable about being black and because their relationship was in private, she didn't experience the negative feelings towards interracial relationships. But now that she had thought about, it was just another reason why they couldn't be together. Although the country claimed they were way past racism, she knew that the white President being with a black woman would be a hard pill to swallow.

"You're right. Can you give me a minute? Besides, you need to get back to Abby," she tried to smile, finding that she failed.

"Okay, but remember I will always be here to talk you off the ledge," he promised before he shut the door and left her to her thoughts.

Olivia resumed the position she had before Stephen first walked in and tried to relax. She still wasn't convinced that she made the right decision. As much as her fingers itched to call him back and profess her love, she couldn't. She knew that Fitz would put a detail on her to make sure she wasn't lying about being in a relationship. Looks like she'd actually have to make nice with Ms. Agnes after all.

Fitz let out a frustrated yell and let the tears flow at will as he felt the worst pain rip straight through his heart. He had never felt this way before in his life. The other times that Olivia had left, he never truly believed that it was over.

Now, with her seeing someone else, he was extremely doubtful. Wiping the tears from his face and running a hand through his brown locks, he got up and poured himself some scotch as he thought back over all the things he had done in the past year to get her back.

_It had been six long months since Olivia walked out of his life again and this time Fitz knew it was going to kill him. He wasn't eating or sleeping and was snapping at anyone within a ten feet radius. He even yelled at Jerry for leaving his shoes out. It made him feel bad, but he was so irritable. His anger had gotten him through the first three months of losing her but that soon gave way and what was left was sheer and utter loneliness and hurt._

_After the first six months, he had enough. Between Mellie badgering him to get her pregnant and Cyrus trying to run the country for him, he was fed up. Fitz decided it was time to take his life in his own hands and make the decision he should have made years ago. This went past his love for Olivia and his growing disgust for his wife. He needed to be a man and take control of his own life. How was he expected to run a country when he couldn't even make decisions for himself?_

_So he made the choice to start divorce proceedings. He called his lawyer and urged him to use the utmost discretion in handling this matter. Then he got one of his agents to dig up any dirt on Mellie they could find on before and after he met her. What he found was surprising to say the least and he knew he would have no problems moving forward with the divorce proceedings. So as soon as he had ducks in a row, he hit her with the news. At month eight he made his move._

_""You needed to talk to me Fitz,""" Mellie asked with mild curiosity as she took a seat on the couch in the living area._

_"Yes, you'll find everything you need to know in that folder there," he gestured, pointing towards the package on the table. As she took the papers from their container and comprehension dawned on her face, Fitz continued, "See, I'm done pretending to be in love with you, and I'm done being yours and Cyrus' puppet. It would in your best interest to sign those and leave."_

_Mellie gave a humorless, almost evil chuckle and threw the papers everywhere with just a flick of her wrists. Ritz watched as the papers reigned down and knew that's Ike would quickly disappear when he told her what he had on her._

_Really? You thought it was going to be that easy. You thought I'd leave quietly so that you and your __**whore **__could live happily ever after in __**my **__house. Well, you are sadly mistaken."_

_I dint think it was going to be easy..."_

_You got that right. I'll air out all your dirty laundry Fitz. You don't want to go to war with me because after we're through, you'd be lucky to get a job at McDonalds because your political career would be over," she spat at him, sitting back and folding her arms as if she won._

_How is Matthew?" Fitz watched as that one question transformed her entire demeanor._

_Who is Matthew?" She asked completely confused._

_Of course you wouldn't know his name," he said, waving his hand and dismissing her ignorance. "The child that you gave up of course. I know you thought I wouldn't find out since you were sent away to that convent as soon as your parents realized that you were pregnant," Fitz told, smiling smugly, and that wasn't even the worse of what he found out._

_How did you...?" she tried to piece together a coherent sentence, but was too dumbfounded to do so._

_"Oh what, you thought because you gave birth at that place and never signed a birth certificate there would be no trails? You should know better than that Mel, there's always trails. So you and Cousin Peter, although since you were adopted it's not as gross, fell in love and you had a baby at fifteen." He paused to let it sink in that if she made this difficult, any hopes of her running for any form of government would be impossible._

"_Oh, and there's that little hit and run that Cyrus covered up for you two years ago. Oh yeah, I found that out too. If I weren't already disgusted this would have done it. You hit a ten year old and fled. What kind of coward does that? Not only will your love child that you abandoned, who is dying to meet you by the way, and the fact that you killed a young child come out, but also the fact that you fake miscarriages for sport and that you have been carrying on an affair yourself will as well. Try me Mellie, I dare you."_

_Totally defeated, Mellie just picked up the papers and a pen and signed on the dotted line. After that she got up, gathered her things, leaving the kids as per their agreement in the divorce, and left. He would not have his children be raised by a murderer and a cold, heartless bitch._

_The final four months were spent finalizing the divorce and divvying assets. He was beyond fair; Mellie got the beach house in Florida, a lump sum of $100,000, and a chance at a future. Now the only thing that was missing was his Livie._

He came back to the future with a realization. He was going to do everything in his power to get Olivia back. Even if that meant he didn't play fair. He immediately got on the phone and called on of his agents.

"Yes, get me everything you have on a Benjamin...no I don't have the last name...follow Ms. Pope and figure it out." He hung the phone and hoped he was doing the right thing.

In the morning, Olivia came into the office with donuts and cat treats. As she suspected Agnes was sitting on the couch in the lobby with a new cat, this time she was knitting something. Olivia made her way over and sat down next to her. She forced her hand to stroke the cat in the older woman's lap as she plastered a fake smile on her face.

"Ms. Shapiro, how are you this morning," Olivia asked with all the pleasantness she could muster.

"I am great Olive, thank you for asking." Olivia cringed at the name, no matter how many times she corrected her, it never failed that she got it wrong.

"That's good, so...how is that grandson of yours?"


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer**: Still don't own Scandal although I am trying to get Shonda to cut me in.

**An**: Reviews have been great. I love hearing from various people. Many had concerns about Ben that will be addressed in this chapter. I love flashbacks and you will see many throughout the story whether it be from that day or years ago. Please continue to review and read.

* * *

It had been a month since the speech and Olivia's life was not getting any easier. Her work ethic was faltering due to her lack of sleep and the firm had just taken on a high profile client. This was not the time to be off her game because she was moping around like a lovesick puppy. Things with Fitz were almost nonexistent at this point. The phone call a month ago was their last contact and although she tried to keep a brave face, she was crumbling on the inside.

She had gone out with Ben a handful of times, enough for Fitz to get proof that a relationship had occurred. Admittedly, Ben was great company. He was handsome in a geeky doctor sort of way and was always chivalrous. If she wasn't already in love with someone else she probably would have given him an actual chance.

After the fifth or sixth date, she made some excuse about how their busy schedules didn't allow for a relationship and they should end it now before they went any further. He agreed and that was that. Ms. Shapiro on the other hand was not as agreeable. No matter how many times either of them told her the relationship was going nowhere, she insisted that it should. Luckily her case was coming to an end and Olivia would never have to see her again.

Once again, Olivia found herself planted in her office after hours. She spent so much time here she was thinking about adding a cot so she could catch some of the little sleep that was thrown her way. She found herself nightly resisting the temptation to pick up her phone and call Fitz. She had gotten close several times, actually dialing the numbers only to hang up before it rang. She was at war with herself over what to do. Right now, her brain was fighting a losing battle to her heart and she didn't know how much longer she could take it. She often wondered how she got here and tonight was no exception.

_Olivia was awakened in the slowest of ways. She usually was jolted awake by her alarm clock, but today was different. She was momentarily confused by the warmth of another human body behind her. She turned and saw the man she was madly in love with sleeping next to her. A faint smile graced his mouth and she couldn't help but return it. Those warm fuzzy feelings of the morning after were quickly replaced by panic and regret._

_Last night, she had slept with the man that she was trying to get elected. The __**married **__man she was trying to get elected. No matter what the state of the relationship was with he and his wife, this was wrong. As the events of last night came tumbling back, Olivia couldn't help but blush. He had done things to her body that no other man had and it was the best night of her life. That memory would have to be enough because she knew this could never happen again. Quietly, she gathered her clothes and dressed quickly before quietly exiting the room._

_All that morning during the pancake breakfast and prayer meeting he would give her knowing looks and brush up against her. She tried her best to remain as professional as possible, often distancing herself whenever he was near, but it didn't seem to matter. She could feel his presence from a mile away._

_Lucky for her, he was off in various meetings for the rest of the day, ones that didn't include her. She thought that she had escaped him but sure enough, at one o'clock in the morning, there was a knock at her hotel door. Only dressed in an oversized Grant for the People shirt, she opened the door expecting it to be the late night snack she ordered. To her surprise, there stood Fitz on the other side of the door his tie off and his shirt partially unbuttoned with a crooked smile on his face._

"_Governor Grant, what can I do for yo?" she asked as she stood aside so that he could come in. She shut the door then followed him into the main area of her room, making sure to keep a safe distance._

"_You can stop with the Governor Grant for one. I think the formalities are pretty much obliterated by now. Why have you been avoiding me?" He looked tired from another day and was in desperate need for Liv, not Olivia the fixer._

"_You know why. You are married and that shouldn't have happened."_

"_I gave you an out. More than once. You made the choice to come to my room and now you're punishing me for it." With each word he took a step towards her until he was standing in her personal space. _

_She put her hands up to try and keep him at bay as she spoke. "I know what I did and I also know what I'm not going to do and that is carry on an affair with a married man."_

_Even with her defenses up, he had found a crack in her armor and was already claiming her heart for his. As hard as it was, she had to be the reasonable one here because it was obvious it was not going to be him. _

"_Married? You know as well as I do that it is in name only." When she put her hands down, he moved closer and wrapped his arms around her waist. "I love you Olivia and I refuse to be without you. Although you won't admit it, I know that you love me too. That wouldn't have happened last night if you didn't. What I need to know is if you're going to deny us what we really want?"_

_When he was that close, she couldn't think. It was like all the air was sucked out of the room and along with it any rational that she could've hoped to have. While she never condoned cheating, she also knew that their marriage was dead way before she even came along. Why deny herself and him?_

_She reached up on her tiptoes and kissed him. Pouring everything she wasn't quite sure how to put into words into it. He reached down and lifted her to him and carried her off to the bed that wasn't too far away. Both of them knew what this meant. They were in a forbidden relationship and neither of them could stop the feelings accompanied with that realization._

_From that point on, Olivia no longer tried to stop the progression of things. She did come up with rules in order to remain undetected though. No touches in public, no lingering looks, no spending the night when Mellie was in town, etc. For a while, that seemed to work out for them. He would go to her hotel room in the middle of the night, usually with Chinese, and they would watch a movie, talk, tell jokes, and other things normal couples did. She often joked that they were vampires because their relationship only took place after dark. The two tried their hardest to make it as normal as possible, even if it meant falling asleep during important meetings. Then he got elected and everything changed._

That was her nightly routine. Work, obsess over Fitz, work some more, play tag with the phone, then try to get some sleep only to go through the same thing the next night. She picked up her phone and dialed Stephen's number, needing to be talked off the edge. Today was her and Fitz's unofficial anniversary and she was having a hard time dealing with the feelings she usually had somewhat under control. He had sent her her favorite flowers; orchids. Attached with it was a card that read _I'll never get over you. I love you and I always will._

* * *

Fitz sank down in bed after another trying day. He had done some things that he was not proud of in the name of love. When he woke up this morning, the knowledge that it was his and Olivia's anniversary and she wasn't here with him hit him like a ton of bricks. Then he got proof of her relationship with Benjamin at various points throughout the day before he had finally had enough. Around noon, he had all of his meetings cancelled and he went to Camp David to do something drastic.

_When they pulled the black wool bag off of his face, Fitz could see the terror in his face, and truly he felt bad for that. He had no intentions of harming Benjamin, he just had to make sure that he would never, ever touch Olivia again in his entire life. For the past month, he had her followed and each picture that showed up on his desk after their little rendezvous would make him get increasingly jealous. There were pictures of them holding hands, hugging, and even one of him moving a stray piece of hair from her face. Olivia was his and he'd be damned if he shared her. So today, after little to none contemplation, he ordered his agents to snatch Benjamin Shapiro from outside of the hospital he worked at and bring him to Camp David._

_Fitz now paced in front of him, hearing once that that intimated people. Benjamin was tied to a wooden chair, his scrubs soaked in nervous sweat as he trembled in his seat. Fitz opened and closed his mouth multiple times, trying to figure out how to approach the topic of keeping your hands off of things that don't belong to you._

"_Tell me Benjamin, do you enjoy being a surgeon?" Fitz asked as he tried his best to be fearful. Due to the gag in his mouth, Benjamin could only nod yes vigorously to answer the question._

"_Good to know," Fitz responded, pursing his lips slightly and rolling his sleeves up. "You see, if you keep going on the path you are going, I don't think that you'll have the luxury of using your hands." He stopped walking and looked Benjamin straight in his eyes. "In some countries, they cut off offender's hands for taking things that don't belong to them. Did you know that?"_

_Fitz decided to let that sink in for a moment and he could see that Ben had absolutely no idea what he was talking about. For a second, his conscience kicked in and he realized this was wrong. But he didn't come this far to lose Liv to this guy._

"_You have taken something that doesn't belong to you and I want you to give it back and never touch it again." _

_Benjamin began making noises, trying to speak, so Fitz removed the gag and let Ben say what he needed to._

"_I have no i-idea w-what you're tal-talking about," he stuttered. Fitz could see that he was genuine, so he decided he had to be clearer._

"_I'm talking about Ms. Pope," Fitz told him, his patience wearing thin at this point._

"_Olivia? We only went out a few times before she called it off. I swear," he explained hastily as if he were fighting for his life._

"_Don't lie to me. I have pictures." Fitz got into his face, his hands braced on the arms of the chair Ben was strapped to. The look of sheer terror in Ben's eyes made Fitz feel even guiltier, but he kept going anyways._

"_I'm not, sir. She made up an excuse about being busy but I thought there was someone else. Now I know I was right." Fitz knew that was something Olivia would say and figured Ben was telling the truth._

_An almost comical look came across Fitz's face as he realized the mistake he made. If he had a mirror, he was sure he'd look like Scooby Doo at one of his 'ruh roh' moments. He muttered an "oops," before he spoke aloud._

"_Really? My bad," he said, giving a sheepish grin as if that would make up for everything. He signaled for one of the agents to untie Ben. _

_While Ben rubbed his rope burn on his wrist, Fitz tried to an explanation. "Sorry for this. That woman drives me crazy, but I love her to death. Women. Can't live with them, can't live without them, am I right." Fitz chuckled and moved for a high five only to be left hanging. He let his arm down slowly while Ben just stared at him with an irritated look on his face._

"_Uh…look, if there's anything I can do for you, let me know. A recommendation, promotion, job, anything let me know. I hope I didn't inconvenience you too much," Fitz said in his friendliest voice._

"_You had me grabbed outside in the parking garage, chloroformed, tied up, and interrogated all for a girl I had a few dates with. Nook, I wasn't inconvenienced in the least," he said sarcastically and rose to leave before he realized he had no clue where he was and sat back down._

"_Love makes you do things you wouldn't normally do," he said sort of defensively, trying to get Ben to see his point of view._

"_Yeah, like kidnap innocent people," he muttered under his breath, though it was loud enough for Fitz to hear him._

"_I am truly sorry for that. Again, anything I could do, don't hesitate to ask."_

"_Actually, I was recently denied for a job at Johns Hopkins Hospital that I've worked very hard for."_

"_Say no more.."_

Fitz had to chuckle to himself as he recalled the events of his day. Not only had he made a fool of himself, but he also faced federal charges for kidnapping and false imprisonment. Hopefully the recommendation and the phone call to Johns Hopkins would smooth things over. He couldn't say that he felt good about what happened today, but he would go through any lengths for Olivia.

* * *

The phone rang and rang but nobody answered. Olivia began pacing back and forth across her office. She had already considered the pros and cons of being with the POTUS several times. But yet again she repeated in to herself out loud, needing to hear them. The war with head and heart was in its final stages and it looked like her heart was going to win. She picked up her phone again, dialing a number she hadn't it a while and waited for an answer.

"Hello?" he answered after only one ring.

"Fitz.."


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: **So Shonda said no to cutting me in, which means I still don't own scandal

**AN: **So I enlisted the help of one of my friends that I got hooked on Scandal to really round out the story. You may or may not be able to tell the difference in writing. She is way more detailed than I, so if you do notice a difference, that is why. The reviews have been great, many seem to like jealous Fitz. Keep reading and keep reviewing.

* * *

Fitz had never been in her place of work. He realized this as he rode the elevator up to the top floor of the old brick building. It hadn't been an hour ago that he'd gotten off the phone with Olivia – Olivia, his Liv – his life. Something about tonight felt different than any other meeting, and he didn't have to dig deep to figure out why. It wasn't some secret rendezvous like they were so used to. No, this was different. They weren't together at all, now.

_But you could be. _

Fitz swallowed thickly at the thought, trying not to dwell on the could be's and focus on the now. She had asked to see him, and that was rare in itself. He knew she loved him, but she had hardly ever initiated face to face contact.

Tonight was different.

"_Hello?" He answered after only one ring._

"_Fitz..." Olivia closed her eyes as she heard his sharp intake of breath from the other end of the line, and her name was nothing but a whisper on his lips, and then the two were silent. She sank down in her overpriced desk chair slowly, gripping the seat with one hand and drawing her bottom lip between her teeth. _

"_I-" They both began at the same time, and Liv couldn't help the light laugh that fell from her lips. _

"_You first." He whispered to her, and she couldn't help but smile. This man, the leader of the country, would always put her first, no matter how miniscule the situation. _

"_Fitz..I think..I made a mistake." The words were foreign on her tongue, and to his ears. _

"_Olivia Pope…admitting she was wrong?" He tried to make light of the situation, but his heart was almost to the point of beating out of his chest. He wouldn't be surprised if she could hear it through the phone line. _

_He was pleasured with her laugh, and the smallest of smiles began tugging at his lips. _

"_Can I see you?" _

And now here he was, stepping out of the elevator and into the hallway that would lead him to his fate. It was theatrical to think that way, he knew, but if it applied then it applied – and it certainly applied. This was it. After a month of not seeing her, not breathing the same air that she did, or catching whiffs of her perfume, staring into those dark eyes and touching that smooth skin – his heart started to race faster just at the thought. It had been far too long, indeed.

The rooms were all dark, except for a single sliver of light coming from the room at the end of the hallway. He inched toward it slowly, taking a deep breath before hesitantly rapping his knuckle against the wood. He heard the soft murmur of her voice beckoning him in, and he twisted the handle slowly.

_This was it. _

She was sitting at her desk, and it was almost like time stopped when their eyes met. They stared at each other as several minutes passed, not saying a word. She was tired, he noted easily. Her eyes always gave her away. There were slight blue spots under her eyes, and he knew she hadn't been sleeping.

_Maybe she was up thinking of you, too._

He was just as beautiful as she remembered. Tall, fit, and oh so Fitz. Her Fitz. She could see the bags under his eyes – from lack of sleep no doubt - and the worry lines on his forehead –something told her it wasn't from the weight of the free world that rested on his shoulders-, but he was still so undeniably _stunning_ to her.

Their staring contest continued for another few minutes, and as he began making his way toward her desk she stood, meeting him in front of it. A hand rested on the wood, supporting her weight as the other softly touched his chest. His hand, large and soft to the touch, cupped her cheek gently while the other took residence on her hip. No words were spoken as the two breathed in the other. Neither of them had felt so at peace in the last 30 odd days.

"Livie." He spoke softly, his voice dripping with the slightest bit of husk. She looked up at him through her lashes. "Tell me you love me?" It was a question, and the uncertainty in his voice broke her heart.

_She did that. _

"You know I do."

"Please. Just say it."

She took in a shaky breath. "I love you." She whispered so softly, but with such conviction in her voice. He smiled slowly, a syllable of a chuckle leaving his lips and he nodded, almost like he was reassuring himself. His eyes popped open and stared into hers, looking for something. He found it not a second later, and he smiled again before leaning down. His lips were a mere millimeter from hers and his warm breath fanned her face as he whispered the words that held so much meaning to the pair before finally touching his lips to hers.

"Just for a minute."

* * *

There was so much that they needed to talk about, and they would, eventually. Right now, however, all they needed was the others touch. As lips melded into one, healing began to take place and everything in the world seemed right. They stood like that, wrapped up in each other's secure embrace for what seemed like hours until the give cancelled out the take and they were one.

"Fitzgerald Thomas Grant the third, you DIDN'T. Please tell me that you are joking," Olivia asked as she sat up straighter on the white couch in her lobby. She moved from the crux of his arm so that she could see his face and he could see hers.

They had eventually moved there and sat cuddling, holding each other barely speaking until she asked him about his day. It had taken some prodding, but he finally admitted to what he did. To say she was dumbfounded would be an understatement. Granted, she didn't expect to him react joyfully to the news of her dating, but she didn't expect him to kidnap the man either.

"What did you expect me to do? Give you away at your wedding?" He shrugged nonchalantly. This entire time, he spoke of his actions with an air of entitlement, like it was his right to covet the woman he loved.

"Well no, of course not, but I definitely did not expect you to KIDNAP the man!" Her voice rose at the last words as she gave him an incredulous look.

"Kidnap is such a strong word, we had a forced discussion, that's all. I told him I was sorry," he said as if he went out his way by doing so.

"Oh you said sorry, all better," her voice dripping sarcasm. "That was the least you could've done. Do you realize you can go to jail?"

"Would you wait for me?" He asked with a joking tone, trying to change the subject.

"What?" she questioned, her train of thought completely thrown off.

"Would you wait for me if I went to jail?"

"Of course I would, but that's beside the point. Don't try to change the subject, you are not off the hook."

"I gave him a recommendation to one of the best hospitals in the world and said sorry more than once, what more do you want me to do?" he sighed. "It looked as if he was getting close to you, I couldn't risk losing you. What else was I supposed to do?" For the first time in the conversation he wasn't joking or acting nonchalantly. He seriously felt as if his options had been exhausted and that was the only thing left. Although he felt bad at the time, he'd do it again if given the opportunity.

"Just promise not to shot the next guy that might accidently brush up against me on the sidewalk," she told him, letting the situation go when she saw the look of fierce love, protectiveness, and proclamation in his eyes. He wasn't perfect, but he was finally all hers and that's all she wanted.

She settled back into his arms and asked the inevitable question. "So now what?"

It took him some moments before he answered. " Well, I would like for you to come live with me and the kids at the white house so that we can finally begin our lives together."

"Don't you think that's a little fast." She wondered as her fingers traced patterns on his chest.

"We've been together on and off for like a hundred years now, I don't think we're moving fast at all." She knew if it were up to him, he would have a moving truck outside her apartment in five minutes.

"Not in our relationship. I'm talking about the for country. You just announced your divorce a month ago. I know that you don't care about appearance, but I do," she tried to reason. "What about your kids?"

"You know that they love you, that won't even be an issue," he spoke confidently. "I don't want to hide our relationship any more. I want the entire world to know that you are the woman I am in love with. I'm no longer married and I won't go back to sneaking in and out of hotel rooms with you." He shifted a little so that she could see his face and how serious he felt.

"That's not what I'm saying. I'm not going to be your little secret, we can publically announce our relationship tomorrow if you want. All I'm saying is let's actually date first. I want to be wined and dined Mr. President," she said, nudging his shoulder a little so that he'd get the hint. "No more cheap Chinese food and old rented movies for me. I want the works. Dinners, vacations, public displays of affection, everything."

"And everything you shall receive." He leaned down and captured her lips with his, sealing the new era in their relationship with a kiss.

* * *

When he got back to the White House at 5 in the morning, he felt better than he had in years. Finally Olivia was his and he didn't have to hide his feelings for her. He walked down the hall to his living quarters with a smile on his face feeling on top of the world. As he passed the pictures of old presidents, he wondered if any felt as happy as him. He was even whistling a happy tune when his bubble of happiness was burst with a razor sharp needle by the name of Cyrus Beene.

"I guess you just don't care anymore, do you? Sauntering in and out of the White House to see _her_ any time you want" he asked, shaking his head. Cyrus was sitting of one of the couches and he looked as if he had been waiting there a long time.

"Not now Cyrus. I'm not in the mood to deal with your shit this early in the morning. I am finally happy and I'd like to stay that way for a little longer."

"Oh, good for you Thomas Jefferson. You and Sarah, I mean Olivia, going to move to France too?" he asked maliciously, referencing the previous president that was known to have an interracial affair.

"If you are unaware for some reason, you are not my father and I don't have to answer to you. I am a grown man, no longer held down by a false marriage, who will do what I please. You can either get on board, or you can get out." Fitz was fed up with Cyrus at this point. If he wanted to be president so bad, he should've ran for office.

"If YOU are unaware for some reason, you are the leader of this country and its people deserve better than some guy that gets easily distracted by his love life!" Cyrus got up and started walking towards Fitz, who was still standing in the doorway. "You and Olivia are going to start dating now? Oh great, now we're going to have to schedule the treaties, bills, wars, and running the free world around date night."

"My personal life is none of your business. You need to stay in lane and do your job. Don't forget you work for me and I can have you replaced in two seconds. Now leave so that I can get ready to do MY job." Fitz's tone brokered no arguments. Cyrus threw his hands up and left the area, grumbling something that sounded like 'this is bullshit' as he did.

* * *

When Cyrus reached his car, he pulled out his phone and pressed speed dial. Looking around to make sure that no one was listening, he waited for the person on the other line to answer.

"What?"

"Do it."

* * *

**AN: **So there is some drama in store for the couple. We all know in the world of Scandal, everything can't be peaches and cream all the time. Before we delve into the drama though, I want to give Fitz and Liv some more time to be a happy couple. So the next chapter or so will be happy times before the other shoe drops.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I don't own scandal**

**AN: I am so, so, so, so sorry for the long length time between updates. I started school again, and I don't care what anyone says, senior year of high school is not fun, but stressful. Anyways, I've been feeling under the weather so I went to the doctor and he diagnosed me with a severe case of the lazies. He prescribed hard work, and that has produced this next installment, lol. **

* * *

Two weeks after they decided to give their relationship a chance, Fitz and Olivia were sitting in the same room that he had over a year ago addressing the sextape, about to announce their relationship to the entire country. He had contacted Diane Sawyer to conduct an interview and would be going live in about an hour. They figured that since he was the president, it wouldn't stay a secret for long and they wanted to be the ones to break the news to the country. Before the meeting, they had to break the news to his children, Karen and Gerry.

"_LIv and I…Liv and I are in love and she and I have decided to be in a relationship," Fitz broke the news as gently as he could to his children. He expected shocked expressions but instead, what he got from his fourteen and fifteen year olds was a look that said 'finally'. _

_When their mother left, although they had missed her, neither of them really put up a fuss or took it negatively. They still talked to her on a regular basis and were even scheduled to spend some time with her in Florida next month. They've known for a while that their parent's relationship was an unconventional one and were happy that the arguments and the cold looks were a thing of the past._

"_Finally you guys said something. We were wondering how long this was going to take. Pay up Ger, I win," Karen said rather excitedly with her hand out. _

_Grumbling, he dug in his pocket and took out a ten dollar bill, "You really couldn't have waited another month could you?" Although he was mad to lose to his little sister, he was happy that his dad and Liv were giving it a go._

"_Wait, you two had a bet going on?"Fitz asked, dumbfounded that his kids knew of his relationship._

"_Yup." They said in unison._

"_How did you guys even know we were going to get together," Liv questioned, speaking for the first time._

"_Please, it was written all over Dad's face the first time we met you. It was so obvious that you two liked each other, and as time passed, we could see that like transform into love. Dad became a different man, happier. And so when he divorced Mom, we knew it was only a matter of time until you two got together," Karen told them as if they insulted her intelligence by thinking they had kept this a secret._

"_So you guys are okay with us being a couple?" Fitz asked, just wanting to be sure._

"_Of course. We like Liv a lot. She keeps you in check. You need her and we're just happy that she's back. For good this time." Gerry surprised Fitz with his statement. He knew the kids liked Olivia, but he had no idea how in tune they were with him._

"_I told you this wouldn't be a problem," Fitz said, addressing Olivia. How about we all have dinner tomorrow?" The kids readily agreed and went off to do whatever it was teenagers did._

* * *

So here, over an hour later, Olivia and Fitz sat hand in hand and watched as Diane Sawyer read over here note cards, not saying a word to either of them. Olivia knew by her demeanor that this was not going to be a friendly interview and that Diane was going to be the voice for women scorned everywhere. Taking a deep breath to settle her impulsive behavior, she looked over at Fitz and squeezed his hand. He would be her rock to not go off during this hour long question and answer segment.

The director told them that they had less than a minute before they went live. Running a hand through her hand one more time, Olivia pasted a pleasant smile on her face and sat up straight, getting ready for the verbal assault she knew was about to ensue. The cameraman began to count down, and on 'three', Diane finally looked up and the interview began.

"Good afternoon Mr. President," she smiled brightly at Fitz, then as an unwanted afterthought, "Ms. Pope." Although her smile to Fitz had been genuine, hers to Olivia had been as real as a purple spotted unicorn. They both responded in kind and then the real interview began.

"So Mr. President, are we to assume that the woman you were speaking of in your interview is Ms. Pope?" Diane asked after she briefly glanced at her cards.

"That is correct. Olivia and I are in love and we are not longer going to hide that fact," Fitz answered, turning to smile at her when he did so.

"How did _Mrs. _Grant, your children, and your staff react to the news of not only your divorce, but your affair?" Olivia did not miss the way she emphasized Mrs., as if she was irrelevant in Fitz's life and his _wife _would be back soon.

"Of course Mellie didn't like the fact that I was leaving her, but it was more about losing the position than losing me. My children, they are dealing with the changes in their own way, but each love Olivia, and are happy that I am happy. As for my staff, they realized that this was a big distraction for me and now that my personal life is in better shape, I will be in an even better position to run the country." Fitz spoke as truthfully as he could, hoping to make up for his former lack of honesty.

"The way you are speaking , it sounds as if you have no qualms about cheating on your wife and lying to the American people," Diane noted, starting to turn up her line of questioning.

"I wouldn't say that. What I will say is that in my position, it is hard to be true to yourself when the truth is something the American people frown upon. I had to make a decision, either be an unhappy liar living a sham of a life, or a happy individual that tells the truth and lives the life he dreamed of. I chose to be happy, I chose Olivia."

It took everything out of Olivia not to cry at his admission. After his statement, the director decided to cut to a three minute commercial break. Olivia was grateful for this, and as soon as the recording light went off, she pulled Fitz down for a kiss.

"What was that for?" he asked her when they came up for air.

"Because I love you so much," she told him, wiping her lipstick off his lips with the pad of her thumb.

Once again, she did not miss Diane's eye roll at their public display of affection and knew that once the commercial was over that it would be her turn to answer questions. Hair and makeup came out and touched everyone up, then once again the camera man counted down and signaled Diane to begin speaking.

"We are back with President Grant and Ms. Pope, covering the first and only look inside the relationship that shocked the nation," Diane began, looking directly into one of the cameras. Then turning her attention back to Olivia, " Ms. Pope, how do you feel about being labeled by some sources as a home wrecker, a power hungry whore, the new Angelina, and a terrorist for trying to break up the nation," Diane finished with a malicious glint in her eyes.

"Wow. I have no idea where those adjectives came from seeing as how we are just now announcing our relationship but I take no offense to them. As Fitz has stated, he was living a sham of a life. His relationship was long dead before I came into the picture. We fell in love, and as much as I tried to fight it, we are better together than apart."

Diane continued on with questions like, "Do you have no shame in being the other woman,' and "do you have advice for any other woman who has been in your shoes," "how does it feel to be the cause of the first Presidential divorce," and her favorite, "has Rielle Hunter reached out to you , so that you two can stand united in issues such as this,". All the while Olivia kept her calm, although by the end of the interview, she had a feeling that Fitz's hand would need some ice because she was squeezing it so hard.

"Well thank both of you for answering the questions honestly and I wish each of you the best in your relationship." Diane said facetiously and with that, the interview was concluded.

The camera crew was packing up and Diane was about to leave when Olivia stopped her with her words. "Are you jealous? Is that why you asked me all of those ridiculous questions, making up sources when those were all your word?" she wondered aloud.

"Excuse me. What would I possibly be jealous about." Olivia had been itching to reveal the information she had gathered about Diane in case of an instance such as this.

"Of the fact that Fitz left his wife, quite possibly even the presidency, for me. Jealous of the fact that he had more to lose than your George, but he still took the plunge. A plunge you have been begging Mr. Stephanopoulos to make for years now, but he won't," Liv smirked.

Diane's mouth was agape as her blue eyes shone with shame, surprise, and anger. "Maybe you, Rielle, and I should do lunch. Discuss forming a group of mistresses, oh but wait, neither of us are mistresses any more, but you are. Never mind then." And with that, Olivia grabbed a laughing Fitz's hand and exited the room, leaving Diane Sawyer to wish she never agreed to do this interview.

Later that evening, around 5 or so, Olivia had finally made it to her office. She, Fitz, and Cyrus had spent the entire day reading blog posts and watching the news to see how the public had received the President's news relationship. The reviews were about 50 /50. Half of the country hating Olivia (the women that had been cheated on, no doubt) and the other half realizing how in love the two were. The entire time, Cyrus huffed and puffed and stated under his breath how stupid they were being. He made it a point to let them know it was a mistake and that Fitz should just be single. Fitz had to threaten firing him several times before Cyrus finally shut up.

She sighed and sank into her office chair, rubbing her hands down her face. Just as she was about to turn on her computer and get some work done when a knock sounded at her door, and her entire team poured through.

"What the hell Liv? The President. REALLY. You didn't think that was something I should've known about?" Abby was the first one to speak, well scream. Her attitude matching her fiery red hair.

"Hey, calm down. I'm sure Olivia has a perfectly good explanation," Huck stated, defending her as always.

"I sure would like to hear it," Harrison chimed in.

" What is there to explain? I 'm sure everyone has watched the interview and put two and two together. We met, had an affair, fell in love, and are now together, end of story and conversation." Olivia said, addressing the entire room.

"I thought we had a deal, Liv?" Stephen questioned, looking hurt that she didn't at least tell him.

"Wait, you knew all along," Abby interrupted, becoming mad all over again.

"Yeah well, I called you before I called him, needing you to talk me off the ledge, but you didn't answer. So I jumped. Lucky for me, Fitz was standing at the bottom to catch me. I don't regret my choice and I won't let you make me feel guilty for loving him," she answered, ignoring Abby's death stares.

"How selfish can you be? It is not your time to be together…" Stephen started to yell, but was cut off by a deep voice coming from behind him.

"I beg to differ. " Everyone turned to see Fitz standing in the doorway, wearing a tuxedo, holding a bouquet of roses, looking incredibly handsome.

"Fitz…what are you doing here," Olivia wondered, more than happy to see him.

"I'm here to take the woman I love on our first real date," he replied, smiling brightly, then crossed the room to gather her in his arms, flowers in all, to give her a kiss. She heard Stephen curse in the distance, and heard the rest of team leave, but was too distracted by his lips to even care.

"Hmmm…where are we going?" She whispered against his mouth as they broke apart.

"That, Ms. Pope, is a surprise."


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I still don't own Scandal**

**AN: I promised date night, so here it is. I hope you all enjoy.**

* * *

"Fitz, you know full well of my hatred for surprises," Olivia ground out as she stumbled and almost fell as he guided her through unfamiliar territory. Not that it would have mattered if she knew where she was at anyways due to the fact that she couldn't see.

After they left her office, he had let her go home to change into something a little more well suited for a date. She had chosen a fitted black one strap shoulder dress that stopped above her knees. She accessorized with red pumps and silver jewelry and decided to let her hair hang in curly ringlets while her bangs cascaded around her face. When she had come out of her bedroom, Fitz, who had been lounging on her couch, immediately sat up and looked at her appreciatively.

"_Wow. Liv…wow. You look amazing," he said while standing up to get a better look at her._

"_Why thank you. You were wearing a tux, so I figured we'd be going somewhere fancy. Am I going to need anything else?" This was her not so subtle attempt at trying to figure out where they were going._

"_Nope. Just you." He grabbed her hand and led her outside. Thanks to his security threatening anyone who came within a one mile radius of her apartment that looked suspicious, there were no paparazzi waiting outside of her door. _

_Once in the town car, Olivia resumed trying to guess where they were going. "The Opera, dinner, a private movie, a ballet, a ball, uhhhh…can I get a hint?" she finally asked after he said no to everything she had thought of and ran out of guesses._

"_Liv, this not Guess Who. Can you please just let me surprise you? Just relax, I have everything under control," Fitz chastised, placing his hand on her thigh in a calming way. Even though it wasn't sexual, it still didn't stop Olivia's body from reacting. _

"_I can't relax. Especially with your hand where it is." He caught up to her mood in an instant, and Olivia did not guess where they were going for the rest of the car ride._

"Be careful, baby. You almost fell." Fitz's grip on her arm tightened to keep her steady.

"Well, if I wasn't blindfolded, I'd be able to see exactly where I was going and wouldn't have stumbled." Fitz chuckled at her sarcastic tone, enjoying having her completely at his mercy.

"_You were my eyes when I couldn't see_," Fitz started singing the Celine Dionne tune horribly off key. This seemed to get Olivia to loosen up a little, and she even laughed when he started to screech the high point of the song.

"Enough, enough. I'm already blind. I don't want to be deaf too," she teased.

"Well you are about to be neither," he announced before taking off her blindfold.

Olivia blinked a few times, then fully opened her eyes and what she saw in front of her had her extremely excited. It was a sleek black helicopter, gassed and ready to go. Although she had been in one before, she had told Fitz many times that she wanted to see D.C from up above at night.

"You didn't…I can't believe you did this for me." She threw her arms around him, hugging him in gratitude.

"I know how much you've wanted to do this, so I set it up. You said you want it all, well baby, I going to give it to you." He gave her a quick kiss before leading her to the helicopter.

As they got closer, Olivia realized that it was just the two of them. Meaning that Fitz was going to fly the helicopter. He climbed in the pilot side, and she the passenger. Seeing him pull on his aviators and headset, then talk pilot talk to the person on the other side of the radio was a turn on. She wished she had known him during his air force days. She was sure he was a sight to see in his uniform.

She put on her headset and buckled up. Next thing she knew, they were off, hovering high above the city just as the sun was beginning to set. They flew around, each pointing different historic landmarks. The city looked beautiful from this view and the man sitting next to her made the experience even better.

"Do you want to fly it?" His question came through her headset and she nearly knocked his hands away from the joystick-like steering that was towards the middle of all the controls.

Fitz let go and Olivia leaned over slightly to get a better grip on the steering stick. At her first touch, the helicopter did a nose dive, and it startled a scream out of her. Fitz just laughed and placed his hands over hers to straighten the copter back up and helped her guide it through the night sky until she had a better feel for the controls. She soon became a pro, just like she did at everything else, and the rest of the ride was smooth.

Half an hour later, Fitz took over again and when where they were going came into focuse, her eyes welled up with tears at the beauty that was awaiting her. Fitz landed the helicopter on top of White House and turned it off before climbing out to open the door on Olivia's side. He held out his hand and helped her out, all the while her other hand was covering her mouth at the sight before her.

He had set up a tent like structure by standing up posts that upheld white linens. Once underneath, she could see that he had hung up sparkling lights and paper lanterns, making the space feel more intimate. Also underneath was round table draped in a red table cloth with a single rose and candle on its surface. The entire scene, with the twinkling lights of the city as their backdrop, was absolutely breathtaking. He seated her, then himself before signaling someone over.

Seemingly out of nowhere, a piano started to play and she immediately recognized it as her favorite song. The person he signaled came closer and she couldn't keep the tears from falling as he began to serenade them.

"_There will never come a day you'll ever hear me say that I want and need to be without you…" _Brian McKnight's melodic voice filled the quiet night air as he came to stand under the tent and sing to the couple.

Fitz got up and offered a hand to Olivia. She took and the two began to dance in lazy circles, her head resting comfortably resting on his chest. Fitz's voice blended with Brian's as he sang along to the music into her ear. "_Cuz I never felt this way about loving, it feels so good," _he crooned out, making her tremble with love and desire.

She silenced Fitz's singing by pressing her lips to his as arms wrapped tighter around her waist. They continued to sway to the beat until the song come to an end. They broke apart to clap and applaud Brian. Fitz shook his hand and Olivia hugged him before he disappeared back to where he came from. The piano kept going, playing a nameless tune to continue to set the mood.

After they were seated, Fitz did another had signal and a two waiters came over, each holding a covered dish. They place them on the table, then revealed what was underneath. It was her favorite meal, shrimp pesto pasta. The waiter poured them each a glass of wine before leaving once more.

"Fitz, this is beautiful. I didn't expect that you'd go above and beyond. Thank you," she told him, reaching out for his hand.

They ate their meal, comfortable conversation flowing between them about everything and anything. They laughed and played footsies under the table like teens while expressing their love for each other with long gazes and words. When their meal neared its end, a serious question came to mind.

"Where do we go from here?" she spoke, looking him in his gray eyes.

"Are you trying to ruin my next surprise?" He responded, misunderstanding her question.

"There's more?" She asked, not knowing how it could get better than this.

"We still haven't had dessert yet," he winked. The flutter in her belly almost unnerved her, but she needed her question answered.

"I meant where do we go in our relationship." She corrected, making it more clear what she meant.

Putting down his fork, he sat straight up and gave her his full attention. "I want to marry you. I want you to move into the White House with me and the children. I want to wake up with you every morning and fall asleep with you every night. I want to see your stomach swell with our child and I want to experience the life I should have had with you. I just need you to say that you want that too."

"That's what I want too," she answered a few moments of digesting everything he just said to her.

Fitz didn't realize he had been holding breath until she said those words to him. He exhaled and smiled wide at her. His eyes watering with the realization that she was finally all his and nothing or no one would ever take her away again.

"Good. Now let's move on towards the next part of our date."

The next part had them cuddled up on a blanket in the Rose Garden sharing a plate of delectable desserts. Fitz had thought of everything. He had made sure there was champagne, chocolate covered strawberries, little squares of cheesecakes, grapes, and pastries. Fitz picked up a white chocolate covered strawberry and drew it up to her mouth. She opened up and he pushed it in, her tongue licking his finger as he pulled it back.

"I love you. Just in case you ever doubted that I did, I just want to let you know that I love you. I know that I left, more than once, but it wasn't because I didn't love you. I just thought I was doing what was best," she explained, feeling the need to.

"It's okay. You're here now, and I'm never going to let you go again. I love you, too," he told her, scooting closer so that he could capture her mouth with his. He pressed his body into hers until she lay back completely on the blanket. He drew her dress up and off before showing her how much he really loved her.


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: Still don't own Scandal, but lucky for us, we are just a week away.**

**AN**: The reviews for the last two chapters were great. I really appreciate hearing from the people that read this story. Makes me feel like I'm not wasting my time, lol. If you remember, a few chapters back Cyrus was plotting something. What you ask? Well you're just gonna have to read and find out :).

* * *

The following weeks were filled with bliss and happiness. Olivia and Fitz's newfound relationship caused both of them a great of happiness and the black clouds seemed to lift from them both. As Olivia sat behind her desk, the words on the page in front of her might as well been Chinese. She couldn't focus on anything other than Fitz. She was in love before, but this time was different. This time she was all in. She giggled to herself as she recalled their date the other evening.

"_Fitz, I look ridiculous," Olivia grumbled as she adjusted the short honey brown wig on her head for the tenth time._

"_Babe, you look just fine," Fitz tried to reassure her. _

_She couldn't look more crazy than he. He had put in a temporary blonde dye in his hair and had his baseball cap pulled down over his eyes. They both had on dark sunglasses and unassuming clothes. Olivia, the fashionista, complained about that too. He had called her last night, telling her to clear her schedule because he had something special planned for them. He showed up at her apartment with the disguises and she looked at him like he was crazy. It took a lot convincing, and some very well placed kisses before she finally consented._

_She was even more surprised when he ushered her to a black sedan and said that he would be driving them to their date. Olivia looked around, spotting ten secret agents, who to the casual eye, were just regular people, before hoping into the car next to him. He took them out of the city to Fairfax and when he pulled into the parking lot of a mini golf/go kart fun center, the little girl in her became giddy._

"_Why mini golf? Not that I'm not excited about the prospect of kicking of your butt," Olivia wondered as he took her hand and led to the pay booth right outside of the center._

"_Because I want relieve all of my life experiences with you. I took my first date to a place similar to this and I can't help but wish it were you here with me. Wish that you were my first date, first kiss. Many people's first love occur early on in their lives, so I found it fitting to take my first love on a very first date-like date. Oh, and believe me, you will not be winning." _

_Fitz paid for their equipment under the alias of Phil Woods, taking on the names of the top golfers to try and intimidate Olivia. But what he didn't know about her was that in her teen years, she was an avid mini golfer, mixed with the fact that she was highly competitive, there was no way he would win._

_They played hole after hole and the score was close the entire game. Fitz had even been up a few times before Olivia would 'accidentally' drop her golf club and distract him by taking her sweet time picking it up. On the last hole, the game was tied, much to her dismay. Olivia went first, and the ball went in the hole after two putts. She silently, well not so silently, cheered herself for being able to tackle the complicated course in so few shots. Then it was Fitz's turn. He squared his shoulders and got himself ready like he was playing in the PGA world tour. Then in one shot, he won the game._

"_I am the champion!" Fitz yelled and pounded his fists in the air in triumph._

"_Aren't you supposed to let the girl win in situations such as this Mr. Gra-Woods." Olivia asked, trying all her might not to throw a temper tantrum because she lost._

"_I wouldn't dream of it Mrs. Woods. But you can still have a chance to beat me on the race track." Fitz tauntd as he leaned down and kissed her before they made their way to the go karts._

* * *

Coming out of her daydream to the sound of her phone going off, Olivia looked down and saw that she had a text message. Picking up her phone, she slid her thumb across the screen to unlock it before pushing the icon. The message was from Cyrus, which was odd because they weren't on the best of terms.

"_Come to the White House as soon as possible. Its urgent," _was all the message said. Fearful that something had happened to Fitz or the kids, Olivia grabbed her purse and headed towards the White House.

When she arrived, Cyrus was waiting for her just beyond the check in gates. He grabbed her by the elbow and led her through the White House in a hurried pace. This made Olivia panic even more and she doubled her steps to get to their destination quicker.

"What's going on Cyrus? Is Fitz okay? Is it the kids? What's wrong?" she questioned, the worry evident in her tone.

"The kids and Fitz are alright. This is about you," he told her, still walking to where ever it is they were going.

Relieved, Olivia let go of the breath she had been holding. But then his words began to sink in. _About me_, what could that possibly mean? They came to stand in front of a closed door to one of the many conference rooms in the White House.

"You need to see exactly what you're getting yourself into. I know you may think this is about me protecting the presidency, but this is about me protecting you. You seem to be blind to everything when it comes to Fitz, and for the life of me, I can't figure out why. So I took it upon myself to show you the light."

Olivia was scared to death of what could be on the other side of the door. She braced herself to find Fitz in a compromising position with another woman, and when Cyrus finally opened the door, she didn't know if this was better or worse.

Inside the room had to be about 35 women, ranging in age and ethnicity. The vast majority were beautiful, young, and black. Olivia just stood in the doorway, frozen in here place. She hoped that this was some sick joke, and that Cyrus wasn't intentionally trying to humiliate her. Being the professional that she was, she trained her face not to show any emotion.

"Who are all these women?" she asked in an even tone even though she already knew the answer.

"These are the women of Fitz's past. All during the time he was married to Mellie. See a specific type or pattern? " He asked, moving closer to her as if he was sharing a secret. "He has told all of these women the same thing he has told you. Can't you see now? You are not special. Ladies, will you please line up in the way I told you earlier and share with Olivia the years you were with Fitz and what he told you."

They seemed to line up according to age and then the first one started talking. Each of them said a year, some said the same year as the one next to them, each said a nickname he gave them, all of the variations of sweet baby, and all of them told her that he told them he loved them and would leave everything behind just to be with them. At around woman number 25, Olivia began to feel physically sick, but she was determined to show that this wasn't affecting her. Cyrus stood at her side the entire time, a smug smile plastered on his face.

When the last girl finally went, totaling 37 in all, Cyrus told them all that they could leave. On the way out, many gave Olivia looks of jealousy, while the others shared looks of sympathy. One even stopped and told her she should run while she still could.

"These were only the ones that he had a relationship with, there's no telling how many others there are. Liv, he is not suited to be a one woman type of man. You should just get out now," Cyrus' voice penetrated her ears as the last girl filed out.

Completely taken off guard by the entire situation, Olivia did the only thing she could do. She slapped Cyrus across the face. Hard. Her palm stung and his face had a red handprint across his right check.

"You didn't do this for me. You did this for you. You did this because you can't stand the thought of Fitz actually being happy with his life. You need him miserable so that you can control his life because the only way you could ever even get into the White House is through him. So you chose to humiliate me to try and get me to leave so that you could control him again!"

Fitz could hear Olivia yelling as he walked down the hall to where her and Cyrus were at. He had made sure that whenever she was on the premises that he be alerted immediately. After waiting for about twenty minutes for her to seek him out, he went to go find her. On his way, he saw a string of women, and it took him a moment to realize that he knew each and every single one of them. _Lisa, Jill, Michelle, Amy, Veronica, Leslies…_he listed off as they went by. Some waved, others glared, but Fitz was too preoccupied with trying to figure out why the hell they were here to really take notice.

Fitz came into view just as Olivia turned to walk away from Cyrus. The cool façade that she had constructed in front of Cyrus came tumbling down as his confused face came closer to her. The tears began to fall and she tried wiping them away only for them to be placed by even more.

"Baby, what's wrong?" he asked as he tried to move closer to her.

She put her hands up to stop him from coming any closer as she asked a question of her own. "Who were all those women Fitzgerald. Tell me they weren't women you've dated, tell me that Cyrus is just pulling this out of his ass to get me to leave you." Her eyes and words pleaded with him to tell her that it wasn't true, but she saw the answer written all over his face.

"Liv, they were before I met you. I don't care about any of them, I promise," he told her, doing some pleading of his own. Pleading with her to believe him.

"Do you think that matters? You told me that I was the first. That you've never cheated on Mellie before me. That you only told two other women besides me that you loved her and that was Karen and your mother. Come to find out, there were 37 other women that you told the same lies to." Olivia crossed her arms over her chest and squared her shoulders to await his reply.

"I didn't mean it. I have only been in love once, and that is with you. I have only, and will only love you. Please don't push me away." He was speaking figuratively and literally as her hands connected with his chest to keep him from coming any closer to her.

"You're not even going to try and deny how much of a pig you have been?You say you love me and what, I'm supposed to turn into Mellie and just let you do whatever you want? How am I supposed to know you won't cheat on me?"

"Olivia…"Fitz reached out for her, but she side stepped him and walked away, not even sparing him a glance backwards.

"Sir, this is for the best. Now you can truly focus," Cyrus piped in, truly proud of himself for how this all went down.

"Get out," Fitz seethed, dangerously low.

"What?" Clearly that was not the response he was hoping for.

"I said pack your shit and get out. You're fired and I'm serious this time. You crossed the line. For some reason, nobody seems to understand that I will do anything for Olivia. That I will destroy anything and anyone that gets in my way. So maybe you should start adoption procedures and really start to enjoy gardening because your political career is over." With that, Fitz turned and left, trying to figure out to make sure that Olivia knew she was it for him.

* * *

It was ten o'clock at night a few days later and Olivia was curled up on her sofa watching a TCM movie that she had seen a million times before. Her phone rang and she didn't even have to look to know who it was. He had been calling non- stop since the incident with all of his women. Olivia wasn't ready to deal with him just yet. This hiatus of sorts made her think back to the first time that she left Fitz.

"_I can't do this anymore," Fitz stated out of the blue as he slammed down his papers on his desk. _

_Olivia and Fitz had been writing his State of the Union Address speech in his private office and she was praying that he was referring to that and not their relationship. Although she had been feeling apprehensive about them continuing their relationship now that he was president, she hadn't expected him to be the one to end things._

"_What are you talking about Fitz? The speech? Us?" she asked with worry in her voice._

"_All of it. I can't go on with our relationship with the state that it's in," he answered back with a very serious tone._

"_What do you mean?" she questioned, hoping that he'd clarify better._

"_I mean that I don't want to be married to Mellie anymore, and I can't be where we are in our relationship because it is not enough for me. Sneaking in and out of hotel rooms and hidden smiles has lost its luster. I want to marry you and if that means that I lose this presidency then so be it." Fitz completed with a smile, hoping that she felt the same way too._

"_Don't be ridiculous Fitz. The American people have been waiting since Abraham Lincoln for a republican president like you. You can't give all that up for me. Let's just get back to writing the speech," Olivia averted her gaze and went back to typing._

"_Are you serious? I just said I want to marry you and you want to work on my speech. I am starting to think that you don't love me as much as I love you. "_

"_How can you say that to me?" Olivia flinched as if he had slapped her. He knew that she loved him as much, if not more than, he loved her just by the fact she was defying her morals to carry on an affair with him. _

_She got up, feeling to keyed up to sit and he got up to. The desk separated them, but the angry energy between them was almost tangible in the large office space. Fitz stared at her with an almost incredulous expression as if the answer to her question was the most obvious thing in the entire world._

"_Because every time I even bring up our future together, you shut down. You rarely tell me that you love me and you're always coming up with excuses and distractions for us not to spend too much time alone together. Do you know what I think? I think you like being a mistress."_

"_Yeah, that's my ultimate goal in life. To be in love with a man that already has a wife and children. To be in love with a man that I can't have." Olivia responded sarcastically as she crossed her arms in front of her chest._

"_You keep using my marriage as an excuse, something that you can hold on to to have control in the relationship. This is perfect situation for you. You get someone to satisfy your needs physically, but still get to be on your own mentally. I think you like not having anyone to come home to. But what you fail to realize is that you have me, all of me, but yet I only get the pieces of you that you want me to have."_

"_That ring on your finger says otherwise. I don't have all of you, I don't even have half. Why would I give everything to a man that is already promised to someone else? How do I know that you won't leave me. Then what am I left with? Nothing. But you still have your wife and kids." Angry tears were forming in her brown eyes at this point but she refused to let them fall._

"_You're right. So maybe it's time I dedicate myself to my children and my wife. Be a better man for this country," Fitz fumed, but didn't realize what he was saying until it was too late._

"_Maybe it is. Goodbye Mr. President," and with that, she stormed out of his office and out of his life._

A knock at her door brought her out of her daydream, tightening her robe around her, she went and answered the door. Checking the peephole first, she let out a sigh before then swung the door open to greet the man on the side.

"What are you doing here Fitz…?"

* * *

**AN**: How is this going to go? Like the first argument? Let's hope not.


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer**: I still don't own the awesomenes that is set to return to us two days.

**AN**: WOW, practically everybody did not like the low down dirty side of Fitz. Believe me, neither did I. But in the world of Scandal, everything is not always butterfly kisses and cotton candy dreams. On a happier note, today is my 17th birthday and as a gift to myself, I decided to gift you all with an update, lol. Just kidding *puts humble hat back on*. This update is a little shorter than usual, but I will most likely update again today and tomorrow in order to finish up before the show starts on Thursday. Happy reading!

* * *

"What are you doing here Fitz?" Olivia questioned with a hard stare as she moved aside to let him into her apartment.

"I came to talk you out of leaving me again," he responded as he moved into her living room.

He looked haggard, as if he hadn't slept in days. His shoulders were slumped and his suit, which he usually filled out well, seemed to drape off of him. Not knowing how Olivia was going to react had really taken a lot out of him. He had been up most nights trying to figure out a way out of this. Knowing that she needed her space, he hadn't wanted to push. But never being known for his patience, he had had enough and needed to know where they stood.

"I never said I was leaving you, I just needed space." Olivia didn't sit, knowing that she'd just stand up again some point during the conversation they were about to have.

"Well excuse me if I don't know whether or not you're coming back when you walk out the way you did," Fitz mumbled idly, not knowing that that would set Olivia off.

"Don't try and turn this around on me Fitz. This is about you. This is about the fact that you lied to me," she practically yelled, pointing a finger in his direction.

"What do my past relationships have to do with this one? Yes, I had a life before you. My bad. But again, what does that have to do with now?" Fitz asked, in a somewhat defensive mode.

Olivia shook her head in disbelief and took a calming breath before she spoke. "Yes, you had a life. But you brought that life into this relationship the moment you decided to lie to me about it. As you pointed out before, I may have kept some pieces of myself from you, but I never lied about my past."

"What did you want me to say? That I have a type, like billions of other people? That I used those girls, told them what they wanted to hear in order to get what I wanted from them. That I dumped all of them after eight months because they pushed me to make a commitment? What?" Fitz asked with his arms spread out and his shoulders shrugged.

"Will you stop making yourself out to be the victim? Every time in this relationship, it's been me holding things back, me coming in between us. Now it's you and you won't even own up to it." Olivia refused to let him off the hook easy like she had in the past.

"If I had told you those things, we wouldn't be here right now. You would've left long ago for fear that this was just a fling. You would've had you guard up even higher than you already did. I did what I thought was best in order to be with you. Like I always do. And I won't apologize for that."

"Are you serious? You don't see what you did was wrong? You don't even care how that makes me feel? How it felt to see all those women so similar to myself spew the words you said to them that sounded eerily similar to the words you said to me? How am I supposed to trust you Fitz? In fact, do I need to get tested for anything?"Olivia knew that she was disease free, but she decided to hit below the belt for the fact he wasn't apologizing.

Setting his jaw tight, Fitz clenched out a "no."

"I have a whole new respect for Mellie. You made me think that she was the bitch in this whole situation. That you were the lonely and emotionally battered husband. When in reality, her feelings and coldness against you were warranted. I probably would have become the same way."

This whole time, Olivia had felt there had to be a reason for why Mellie acted the way she did. No woman becomes that jaded against a man for absolutely zero reason. But love had made her push her gut feelings aside. Fitz was dangerous to her. He made her forgo her reasoning with just those three little words. Well, no more. She had to be of sound mind from here on out if they were going to continue.

"I admit that I'm a cheater. That's how this relationship started, so it would make no sense for me to deny it. But the vast majority of people cheat because they are not happy at home. You asked me how you are supposed to trust me. I don't know how to answer that for you. Just know that I would never hurt you like that because I am happy with you. I meant it when I said I never was in love before you and I'm going to need you to believe that."

"Amanda Tanner." Those two words seemed to prove her entire point.

"What? We weren't together then," Fitz griped as he wiped both hands down his face in frustration.

"Semantics, Fitz. You said you wouldn't hurt me like that, but you already have. Cheating is what you do. I was willing to overlook Amanda, thinking it was just a blip. When really, it's a pattern." She began to pace, as she always did when she was trying to control her emotions.

"I can't erase the past. There's nothing that I can do to fix that. I am sorry that I lied to you. Sorry that you found out the way you did. But what I'm not sorry about is the fact that I love you." He was sincere in his apology, but it still didn't fix everything.

"Really? What has you loving me gotten you to do? Let's recap shall we? Readily abandon your country, which by the way, still has not come around to the idea of us, lie to me, oh and let's not forget, kidnap a man," she listed off, sticking up a finger for each grievance his love has caused her, making a big show of it.

"All of which could have made me lose everything, even sent me to jail. But I was willing to do that for you. This is classic Olivia. You realized what it's going to take to be in a full time committed relationship and it scared the shit out of you. Now you want to run." Fitz was once again on defense, trying to bring up her shortcomings to somehow make his fault lesser.

"I should be running! **YOU ARE A CHEATER!** Do you not understand that? How am supposed to be willing to just slide that under the rug?" Trust was a big thing with Olivia. It was pretty much everything and she had made that known to him. So for him to blatantly dishonor that is what hurt the most.

"You weren't concerned about my cheating when it was done with you," Fitz lashed out.

"Because you made me believe that I was the only one. I could see that whatever you had with Mellie was over and so I was able to justify it in my head. But what I didn't see is that you caused the problem with Mellie with thirty seven relationships and countless other flings."

"I can see this conversation is going nowhere, and you're still too pissed off to even deal with me right now. So I'll leave. I just want to know that you won't give up on us." He told her on the way to the front door.

"I don't know Fitz…"Olivia responded with her head down, not meeting his gaze.

"I love you. Never forget that." With that last statement, he walked out.


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer**: Do I own Scandal? Nope.

**AN**: Let's see if our boy can dig himself out of the hole he put himself in.

* * *

It had been a month since the big blow out and the contact between Fitz and Olivia had been very minimal. The majority of the time Fitz was doing damage control, passing bills and other things in order to put the country back on his side. The American people were slowly but surely coming around. He wished he could say the same for Olivia. He had texted each morning and each night that he loved her, but she never replied until this morning. Seeing a 'Good Morning' come across his screen had let him know that it was time for him to implement his plan. Luckily for him, he had a three day weekend coming up and he would use that time wisely.

He had thought long and hard about how he was going to win Olivia back and it took some careful planning on his part to make sure that everything would be perfect for what he had in mind. He knew that his grand gesture wouldn't forgive him of all his sins, but he did hope that it would at least get them on track to the future he wanted for them.

With his work done for at least the weekend, Fitz made a few phone calls to make sure that everything would be ready by the time they arrived. All that was left was Olivia. He prayed that she was open to this and even more than that, hopeful that it would work. He closed the door to his private office so that he could dial a number he hadn't in a while and waited for her to answer.

* * *

The last month for Olivia had been bitter sweet. She had learned a lot about herself in their time apart. She knew that if she was going to give their relationship a chance, she'd have to set guidelines. Most importantly, she'd make sure he'd know never to lie to her again. That was the sweet part. The bitter part was that she missed him like crazy. She was still waiting for more than just an 'I love you' before she put herself back in the relationship. She needed to know that he understood where he messed up and that he wouldn't do it again.

So here she sat, in her office on a Friday afternoon trying to figure out what she was going to do with her three day weekend. She didn't want to spend it moping about Fitz like she had the past four weekends. Abby and Stephen had invited her out, but she didn't want to be around the couple, not feeling the way she currently felt about relationships.

She had contemplated long and hard about her next move, but felt it was the right one. Picking up her phone, it started to ring in her palm. Looking at the screen, she saw the person on the other side had been thinking about her the way she was thinking about him.

"Hello, Fitz," she answered neutrally, not wanting to sound overly excited or overly skeptical about hearing his voice.

"Hi, Liv. I was hoping that you were free to go somewhere with me this weekend," he told her, the hope in his voice transcending the phone lines.

"Depends. Where are we going?"

"Now you know that that is a surprise. I just want to show you that I heard what you said. I want to show you why you can start building trust in me again and why I would never intentionally hurt you."

Olivia had since calmed down and was ready to hear Fitz's side of the story. If he had to take an entire weekend to do so, then so be it. She answered the only way that she could, "yes."

"Great. I'll pick you up around eight tomorrow morning so that we can get an early start. Oh and Olivia, I love you." Fitz said the words as often as possible, never wanting her to doubt it.

"I know." They hung up the phone and Olivia thought about her weekend with more anticipation than she wanted to admit.

* * *

The next morning, the presidential town car pulled up outside her apartment. Olivia had no idea where they were going, so she packed for many different outfits to accommodate all weather. Nervous energy bubbled in her stomach as she headed down the stairs and out her building. She didn't know how she was going to regard Fitz after all this time. When she got outside, the driver took her bags and opened her door. She slid in the seat next to Fitz and they were on their way.

"Good morning," he began brightly, "I have your favorite tea and a muffin in that bag over next to you," Fitz pointed, smiling wide at seeing her for the first time in over a month.

"Good morning to you as well, and thank you," she responded after taking a sip of her tea.

"I know that I usually drive us to our dates, but since we aren't traveling to our final destination in this vehicle, I thought against it," he explained, hoping that she didn't think he was slacking off.

"It's okay," she retorted and after that, an awkward silence filled the space between them.

"Fitz I…" Olivia started after almost fifteen minutes, feeling the need to end the silence between them.

"Shhhh…" he cut her off, "I don't want you to say something out of obligation to fill the void. This weekend is going to be about me proving myself to you. After this, I'm sure that we will have plenty to talk about." He took her hand in his, happy that she didn't pull away and they continued the rest of the way in silence.

When they pulled up in front of a plane, Olivia became a little suspicious of the happenings of her weekend trip. She hadn't anticipated going out of state, but she was more than willing to go wherever it was he was taking her.

They boarded the small jet, settling comfortably in their seats and prepared for takeoff. They chatted idly about the past events of the month. Olivia gave Fitz some pointers on his political career and he listened to her talk about her newest client. They even had time for a quick morning nap. Before they knew it, the plane landed and they were ushered into another car. The windows of the car were tinted so Olivia had no idea where they were going. When the car stopped, and they got out, Olivia was left with more questions than she had answers to.

It appeared to her that they were outside of a studio in Hollywood. With the amount of time they flew, it was a possibility that they were in California. She hadn't expected to travel so far for what she felt was a simple conversation of how to move forward from where they were. But she did know that Fitz would think she'd need a grand gesture to dig himself out of the hole he was in. More than ready to find out what was going on, Olivia accepted Fitz's offered hand and let him lead her inside.

"I know how much you hate it, but it's time for you to put on your old friend Mr. Blindfold," Fitz joked as he stood behind her and wrapped the cloth around her head.

He led her down what seemed to be a hall and around a corner before they came to a complete stop. He untied her blindfold and a major sense of déjà vu washed over here as she took in the 'Grant for the People', 'Vote Grant for President' sign and a board that had the countdown to Election Day on a makeshift stage in front of them. She recognized this as the time they first met, and stood there dumbfounded that he had it recreated down to the very last detail. She hadn't noticed until now, but he was actually wearing what he had been more a little more than three years ago.

"If you would please stand on the 'x' in front of you," Fitz gestured, bringing her back to the present/past with him. Olivia stepped on the x and watched him do the same with an x of his own.

"This is where I fell in love with you. You were telling me all of these things about my marriage, about me, and all I could think about was what you would feel like wrapped in my arms, what you would look like with my ring on your finger, how you would sound when you told me you loved me. I should have said something in that moment but I didn't, and I regret that." A look of sorrow came across his face as he completed what he need to say.

"Fitz…" Olivia had no idea what to say, her emotions overwhelming her thoughts.

"No," he said putting up his hands, "let me finish. I should have told you then everything that I was thinking, but instead, I tried to get you fired. I tried to run away from what I was feeling like a coward when I should of let you and everyone else know then that my heart belonged to you."

During their month apart, Fitz had realized that he pushed Olivia to do a lot of the things she did regarding their relationship. How could he expect her to stay with him when at every turn in the beginning of their relationship he was hiding from his feelings or running away from them? The foundation on which their relationship was formed was shaky at best and he had no one to blame but himself. He should have expected it to come crumbling down. But today would be about him changing the mistakes of the past in order to move on in the present and the future.

"Fitz, you brought me all the way to California and had this recreated to…" Olivia tried to process.

"I needed you to really know how I felt about you then and how I feel about you now. This was the only way I could think of to convey my emotions to you and also fix what I did wrong."

Fitz reached into his back pocket and pulled out note cards, handing a set to Olivia, but also keeping a set for himself. "I want to redo this, so if you could please read your lines so I could get it right this time, I would greatly appreciate it."

Olivia looked over her note cards and figured she'd give him a shot to do this his way. She read her lines, all words that she had said to him about his marriage and at the end he shouted "I LOVE YOU OLIIVIA POPE!" She had to laugh at the way he was so enthused over his lines.

They left the place where they first met and walked over the next staged area. Neither of them really spoke; Olivia's mind was too busy trying to figure out where he was going with this. Minutes later, they reached the area and this time it was set up like the one in South Carolina where the republican presidential debate had taken place. Again he had x's marked, his on the stage and hers somewhere in the audience. He took the podium and began to speak.

"Here is where I professed my love for you in front of everyone and anyone watching, but I did it under the cloak of Mellie. I should have said loud and clear that it was you that I loved, then there would have been no question in your mind. You wouldn't have had to worry about me one day leaving you because I would have made it clear that I wouldn't have," Fitz declared.

By this point, what he was doing was becoming clear to her. He was trying to move forward, by moving backwards. Trying to prove his love for her by taking the blame for what went wrong in their relationship. Trying to show her that what he felt for her he had never felt for another person and that he would try his hardest to get back to that place when their love was new so that he could do it different this time.

Again, he told her to read her note cards and after she had, he again shouted, "I LOVE OLIVIA POPE." Chuckling to herself over the production he was making, Olivia waited for Fitz to come to her before they left the set and headed towards another. This time they had to step inside a box- like creation that once in, she recognized as the elevator from that same night. He shut them in and pressed a button, the first ding sounded and he stepped in a little closer.

"I remember this well…"she told him as another ding sounded and he moved even closer.

"I should have told you here that I choose you. With each ding I built my courage and then the door opened it shattered and I left you again. I should have shouted to the world that I was yours, but instead, I walked away." And just like with the rest, they reenacted the memory and had the ending that he wished that they could have.

And on it went, their first one minute minute where he had an actress play Mellie. That one was especially comical as he told 'Mellie' to go to hell. Next was the campaign event where Mellie told of her fake miscarriage and he ended that with him telling the truth. She asked him if he was going to do the tour bus next, but he only replied that that was perfect as it was.

The next scene had her body flushed and her desire high. She saw the broken lamp and the tangled sheets on the bed where he first made love to her. He took her hand in his and led her to the bed. This time instead of x's, he had full body markings. Olivia laid down in her position and he in his. His body was curved into hers and he whispered in her ear.

"If I was to do this over again, I would still make love to you the way that I did, but while you were asleep, I would've made a few phone calls, started divorce proceedings and dropped out of the race. I would have woken up before you and made sure that you wouldn't have been able to get up, let alone walk in the morning. Instead, I let you leave me." he told her, caressing her arm.

He felt a shudder go through her body as he inched himself even closer. Wishing that they could replay this scene the way that he wanted, he backed off and told her, "I love you so much Olivia. I want to say more, do more, but I'm going to wait until tomorrow during our final walk down memory lane," he finished as he stood and helped her up.

It had gotten late by now and they had had a long day. Since they were in California, Fitz took Olivia to his ranch in Santa Barbara which was a little over an hour and a half away from where they were in Hollywood. When they arrived, he let her get settled into the guest house before making his way over to say goodnight.

She was sitting on the couch in her pajamas, a campaign t shirt and shorts, with a glass of wine in her hand when he entered into the dwelling. She looked up at him as he made his presence known and set her wine down to give him her full attention.

"I just wanted to let you know that our next thing won't be until the afternoon tomorrow so you can sleep in if you want. Also you can call down to the kitchen if you're hungry," he told her and she acknowledged him with a nod.

"If none of what I did today made sense believe me, it will tomorrow when I finally get everything explained the way I want to." Fitz didn't want to give anything away, but he also wasn't ready to leave her just yet.

"I get what you're doing and I think I know what we will be doing tomorrow. I still am looking forward to it nonetheless," Olivia answered back, sensing that he wanted to say more but not knowing what.

She understood his need to be in control today and also understood the fact that she should wait to elaborate her feelings any further until he was completely done doing whatever it was he needed to do. She really appreciated all of the effort that he went through in getting things set up perfectly to reenact their past. She got that even though he couldn't make her forget, he could try and make the experience different. She was grateful he was finally owning up to his flaws in the relationship.

"Goodnight Liv, I love you.

"Good night…"

* * *

**AN**: What is going on tomorrow? Could it involve a tree? Lol. There is going to be one more real chapter and an epilogue after this, so brace yourself for a conclusion to the story.


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I do not own scandal**

**AN**: Sorry for the delay. I had a serious case of writer's block, but as someone pointed out to me not so subtly, lol, I had to suck it up and finish what I started.

* * *

As the hours of the morning turned into afternoon, anticipation of the finale of Fitz's grand gesture curled in Olivia's belly. She had her suspicions as to what he was going to do; in fact, she had stayed up all night imagining it. She had long since decided that she was going to forgive him for his past actions. She realized that although her feelings about the subject were justified, she had been a little irrational in how she reacted. But not wanting him to know just yet that all was forgiven, she decided to let him work for it. This way he would think twice, heck five times, before he ever tried to withhold information from her again.

To keep herself busy, she read a book that she had been meaning to read for months now. It was a very relaxing feeling to sit in the window seat and do things at her leisure. Today, she was just Liv and she loved it. That was what made her fall so hard for Fitz in the first place. Unconventional as her relationship may seem to outsiders, to her, there was something so normal about falling in love with a man that let her be herself that made it easy to do so.

Folding down the top corner of her book down, she thought over their day yesterday. She appreciated him taking responsibility for his faults in their relationship even if they were things that were expected of him. She never asked him or even wanted him to profess his love for her in the beginning, or so she thought. Subconsciously, she had to admit watching him go through those motions and understanding his thought process three years ago made her feel more loved than she ever had. More importantly, it made her realize that she worthy of being loved out in the open. Deserved it even. And now that he was no longer married and the secrets of the past were out, that is exactly what she intended to be.

* * *

It was around five in the evening when Fitz had finally came for her. He was wearing a simple black sweater and jeans but she thought he looked absolutely breathtaking in his laxed appearance. Gone were the worry lines that used to crease his forehead and gone was the dimness in his eyes. In its place was a look of serenity that only came when his was in his natural environment. She was happy to see this Fitz. This was the Fitz that made her heart speed up in her chest and her knees go weak.

"Are you ready?" He asked simply, holding out his hand for her.

She had been dressed since this morning, wearing an outfit similar to his, a cardigan and jeans. Due to their location, she decided to forgo makeup and had her hair in a high ponytail. Knowing she wouldn't be any more ready than this, she nodded her head and took his hand.

They had a light conversation flowing on their way to the destination, mainly about the happenings of their day. It was natural and it felt right to be with him like this. She was ready for him to say what he had to say so that they could move on together. This issue had been dragged out long enough in her opinion and by this point all she wanted was him.

They took a short path up a hill that overlooked the entire ranch. At the top of the hill was a tall and mighty oak tree. In the summers it would shade the entire hill but while in the current fall season, the leaves were yellow, red, and orange. There were some leaves on the ground and they crunched under their shoes as they took a seat on the wooden bench that was built to wrap around the tree.

This time there were no note cards, marked x's, or elaborate stage to announce what part of their past this was. It wasn't needed. She knew exactly what had happened here, how important it was to the development of their relationship.

"Do you remember this?" Fitz asked his voice low and unsure of her answer. Olivia simply nodded her reply and waited for him to continue.

"We came here, just me and you, the day after I found out I won the election. You, of course, were happy that we won, but although you tried to hide it, I could see that you thought that this was the end of our relationship. Somehow, I convinced you to come out here with me and we sat on this very bench for hours without saying a word. Then I asked you a question. Do you remember what that question was?" He queried as he turned towards her and took her hands in his.

"You asked me if I trusted you. Trusted us."

"And you answered yes. A whole hearted yes. Next I asked if you would stick by me when the job became too much and would you lean on me when you got scared that this wouldn't work out. Again you answered yes. What did I ask you next?" This would be the most important part of their conversation that day and any day.

"You asked me if I loved you as much as loved me," Olivia answered, using the exact words that he had used.

"And after some hesitation. What did you answer?"

"I said no."

Fitz was suddenly thrust backwards to the first time he heard that word leave her lips. He had been devastated. Three years ago when he asked that same question, he had been holding her hands as was now and when heard her answer, he let the go and looked away. He didn't do that this time. Nor did he get up as he had. The pain that had filled every part of his being the first time didn't come because he knew that she wasn't finished her statement.

"I love you more." And with those four words, his axis was righted and his world was alright.

"Exactly. That was the first time you said that you loved me. You bared all to me and I didn't do the same and for that, I am truly sorry. I was scared and I knew that I couldn't lose you. But what I need to know now is if you forgive me and if those words still hold merit."

Earlier that day, Fitz was unsure of how this was all going to end up. He didn't know if he'd walk away with the woman of his dreams or if he'd walk away empty handed. He had paced frantically in his room, had called his kids for support and had even talked to Mellie to apologize and take responsibility for his actions in their relationship. He wanted to make sure that when he went to Olivia this afternoon that it would be of a clean slate and clear conscience. He had sent each of those 37 women a letter of atonement for his errors and now as he sat before her, unlike in the past, there were no hidden secrets between them, only love.

Olivia took a breath before she answered, "Those words back then had no merit. That was proven when I walked away not even three months later. But today they do. I trust you. I trust us. I won't walk away when the job becomes too much and I will lean on you when I get scared. But most importantly, I love you. I love you to distraction and I couldn't walk away now if I tried."

No more words needed at that point, Fitz brought her mouth to his and kissed her with such love that there was no doubt that this is where she belonged. He pulled away momentarily to whisper that he loved her too before he claimed her lips again.

After some minutes, he pulled away a pulled a box out his pocket before getting down on one knee. He opened the velvet box and nestled inside was a solitaire princess cut diamond resting atop a silver band. Fitz's hand trembled as he removed the ring from its cushion and presented it to her.

"Olivia Carolyn Pope, I want to prove to you that you can trust in our relationship. In me. I want you to be my Livi forever. I'm not scared to love you out in the open, naysayers be damned. I love you and I want to know if you would marry me?" Tears glistened in his gray eyes as he awaited her answer.

With an almost inaudible yes, he slid the ringer on her finger and pulled her into his arms for what would be the rest of eternity.


	10. Epilogue

**Disclaimer: Do I own Scandal? Nope**

**AN**: First let me start off by saying how nice you guys have been throughout this whole process. It lights up my day when my phone vibrates signaling I have a new email and its a review. We have come to the end of this story, but I can't let you go without a peak into the future. So here is my epilogue.

* * *

"Jack, not so close. Fitz, get your son please," Olivia yelled out from the sidelines as she watched her son inch closer and closer to the water's edge. Fitz hurriedly scooped him up and waded knee deep into the ocean with their child.

Crisis averted, Olivia was finally able to relax and enjoy their impromptu vacation to the beach. Since Fitz's second term ended almost a year ago, they had started taking more and more of these outings. Most of the time it was just the three of them, but on this trip, everyone decided to join. Karen, Jerry, Mellie and her new husband, and even Cyrus, James and their daughter Ava. After Fitz and Olivia had gotten married, a little over five years ago, Cyrus had finally come around and the trio was back on. Even Mellie was less vile now that she had found happiness, but they still could only take her in doses.

Olivia watched her husband splash around in the water with their two year old in relished in the fact that she got to call him that. Her husband. Even after all these years, she still hadn't gotten used to being called Mrs. Grant but she loved every single moment of it. The American people as it turned loved it as well and the fact that they were no longer living in sin was a big part in getting Fitz reelected. It was amazing what a ring did in proving your morals, but Olivia could care less about the formalities. As long as she got to crawl into bed next to Fitz every night, everything they went through was worth it.

Fitz came out of the water and took a seat next to her on the towel. Jack was playing with his siblings, splashing and giggling as Jerry took him deeper into the water. He looked exactly like his father right down to his curls and gray eyes. The only difference was that Jack had a golden hue that he got from his mother.

"That kid is a fish," Fitz joked idly as he scooted closer to Olivia and put his palm on her swollen belly. "Do you think this one will like the water as much or will she be a bookworm like her you?" He asked as the baby kicked at the palm he had placed on her stomach.

"Well since Jack is just like you, I would assume that this little one will get a little more of me. Especially since she's a girl." They sat silently and tracked the kicks across her abdomen, just happy to feel the life that they created together move.

"Thank you," Fitz said randomly.

"For what?"

"For loving me. For sticking by me. For being you."

"You're welcome." She leaned over and punctuated her statement with a kiss.

* * *

**AN**:Please leave me your reviews and final comments on this happily ever after.


End file.
